PETA praises CTA for dumping glue traps for pests

There's good news -- sort of -- for the rats, pigeons and other small critters that scamper through CTA subway tunnels, foul elevated rail platforms with droppings and infest bus facilities.

The Chicago Transit Authority is no longer using glue traps as part of its pest-control program. After getting caught on the sticky strips, animals would struggle to escape, often breaking bones and tearing skin, fur and feathers off their bodies.

The decision to quit setting out glue traps -- not to be confused with the sticky floors on buses and trains left by herds of sloppy high schoolers -- has earned the CTA a "Compassion Award" from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

It doesn't mean, however, that the transit agency is going soft on nonpaying critter customers who gnaw and nibble on the abundant food sources found around CTA facilities.

CTA officials said glue traps were never used in public areas because of safety concerns. The new method across all CTA properties mainly involves locked boxes that contain snap traps and bait, CTA spokeswoman Wanda Taylor said.

Still, PETA sees the ban on glue traps as a small but important effort to make the world a better place for animals.

"Thanks to the Chicago Transit Authority's decision to stop using these exceedingly cruel devices, many mice, birds and other small animals will be spared a terrifying, prolonged and painful death," PETA Vice President Daphna Nachminovitch said.